Frustrating Imprint
by col.mustard
Summary: Paul was an angry werewolf who imprinted on Chloe a mischievous girl who likes to give him a hard time and who seems to be the only person immune to his temper.
1. Chapter 1

"Man is it cold," Chloe commented, shivering while pulling her vintage bright orange jacket closer against her. She added some hop/steps to her walk for a few paces, trying to get her blood flowing a little faster.

"You should have worn pants," her friend, Suzy, commented dryly, looking down at Chloe's bare calves and knees popping out from under her skirt.

"Oh, what one suffers in the name of fashion," Chloe said dramatically, though really wishing she had worn pants and a heavier jacket. The three girls were walking along the path of dirt and sand leading down to the beach. The sun had just gone down, leaving the night dark, but they could see where they were going due to the bright moon in the sky and the large bonfire they were quickly approaching.

"Get a room!" Gwen heckled two teenagers, who were busy making out in the shadows and brush, away from the light of the bonfire. The boy looked up to glare at them, and the girl blushed upon seeing them, pushing herself up into a sitting position, straightening out her hair. "Oh, hi Zack!" Gwen said cheerily upon recognizing the boy from school, "Carolyn," she also acknowledged the girl he was with.

"Hi," Carolyn remarked, giving a weak smile, nervously glancing about to see if anyone else had seen them. Everyone else, though, was at the bonfire. "Sorry to mess up your groove there Zacky-boy," Gwen said cheerily, giving a small wave as the girls continued there descent to the center of the party. She either didn't see or didn't care that her comment had caused Carolyn to blush even deeper, hiding her face behind her hand.

"Carolyn and Zack, heh?" Chloe remarked curiously, the two didn't really seem to fit together. Carolyn was on the student council, and popular in that smart, authoritative way. Zack was part of what the three girls liked to call "their people:" the slightly weird and awkward (in a funny way, not a future serial killer way), the originals, the outcasts.

"Isn't it romantic?" Gwen remarked, "Opposites attract."

"Like I'm sure that will last," Suzy remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, and how do you know?" Gwen demanded.

"Because it was obvious she was embarrassed to be caught with him. No way is she going to come to school Monday and be all boyfriend girlfriend with Zack," Suzy replied.

"You are so cynical," Gwen shook her head, in that 'I-know-I'm-right-but-there's-nothing-I-can-do-to-help-you-see-that' way.

"If it's true it's true!" Suzy shrugged dramatically, throwing her hands in the air in the 'You-can-deny-the-truth-all-you-want-but-I'm-right' way. The girls had reached the bonfire, and Chloe gravitated directly to its emanating warmth. "Ah," she sighed out, holding her hands out for warmth.

"Okay, care to wager on that?" Gwen put in.

"What're the terms?" Suzy asked easily, her eyes narrowing playfully and her mouth forming into a smirk. Making random bets was a sort of hobby for the girls, and it was an unspoken rule between them that you always had to take the bet. Chloe, now that her mind wasn't focused so much on how cold she was, watched eagerly as her friends made a bet, wondering how it was going to turn out.

"If Zack and Carolyn come into school on Monday and act like a couple, I win, and if they pretend they don't know each other, you do," Gwen said, smiling simply.

"Loser has to wear the old motorcycle goggles all day," Suzy made up the rest of the terms on the spot, drawing on the find the girls had discovered at a garage sale earlier in the day "No matter how itchy they get," she added menacingly.

"Deal," Gwen said as she stuck out her hand, Suzy grabbing it and shaking it heartily.

"I hate to break up the betting and all, but have either of you noticed how hot the natives are looking?" Chloe asked, staring in the distance beyond her two friends. The girls had been so intent on their conversation that they hadn't noticed anyone else at the bonfire yet. Now they very un-surreptitiously turned their heads to get a look at what Chloe was referring to. Standing in a huddle a little away from everyone else was a group of boys, or more like men, from the Quileute tribe. Judging by their clothing, you wouldn't be able to guess that it was middle October in Washington, since they were all wearing light weight t-shirts, and there were even some in cut-off jean shorts, and they didn't even appear to be cold!

"Woah mama," Suzy said when she saw them, turning back to Chloe.

"I don't remember a whole group of very hot, very muscular men the last time we came to one of these bonfires," Gwen remarked, her voice raising suggestively.

"Where did they come from and where can I get one?" Suzy said, staring openly at them.

"I wonder why they are all just standing there together?" Chloe commented curiously, "Isn't it just a little bit strange?"

"I wonder if anyone else knows who they are?" Gwen looked about at the other people at the bonfire. A lot of the kids there were sending curious glances toward the native men as well, a lot of the females also wearing appreciative faces.

"So I see you've noticed the Quileutes?" a voice rang out from behind them.

"Hey Joey," the girls greeted happily. Joey was a friendly guy with beach blonde hair and an all-American look. The three girls liked him immensely, and he was quite helpful too, as he knew all the gossip.

"If you mean the hot stud-muffins over there, then yes," Suzy said.

Joey laughed, "Yeah, they are drool-worthy, aren't they?" he said longingly, letting his gayness show through. Joey wasn't your stereotypical gay. He liked sports and wasn't girly or flamboyant in any way. In fact, he would have been one of the least one's suspected at the school until he finally came out last year, he had lost some of his friends because of it, but he said he was much happier now that he could finally be himself.

"Where did they suddenly come from?" Chloe asked, "Why haven't we seen them before?"

"Oh, I'm sure you have," Joey told her.

"I'm sure I would have remembered," Chloe said skeptically.

"Here's the thing," Joey said, leaning in conspiratorially, "They didn't always look so hot and muscular. Two weeks ago, at the last bonfire, I talked briefly with this guy, Quil, who was about my height, if not shorter, and now he's over there with those giants," he said, nodding toward the group.

"No kidding?" Gwen said.

"What are they on steroids or something?" Chloe asked.

"Looks like it," Joey said with a shrug, "And it all fits too, since apparently they all have really bad tempers. One of them was about to beat up Roger Yeater the other day for accidentally hitting him in the shin with a stray Frisbee. He would have too, if his friends hadn't dragged him away. Too bad about the drugs, that Quil guy was cute."

"Don't look now, but one of them is totally staring at you," Gwen told Chloe, who immediately turned around to look.

Upon meeting his eyes, she looked away abruptly, nervously, turning back to her friends, "Oh my god, do you think he heard us?" she whispered worriedly.

"Of course he didn't hear us," Suzy rolled her eyes, "We're way too far away."

"Now they're all looking," Gwen commented on their movements like spectator at a sports game, not bothering to hide the fact that she was staring.

Chloe automatically turned around at Gwen's comment, and her eyes once again met those dark ones. It was hard to tell exactly what he was staring at from this distance, but Chloe felt that he was staring at her. The expression on his face was unreadable, and Chloe turned her head away embarrassedly before she could examine it further.

"He's coming over here," Suzy squealed, trying to keep a calm appearance, though.

"Hello," the man said upon reaching them. Chloe could see that he was even more handsome up close. He looked older than her, in about his mid twenties, and Chloe wondered how her mom would feel about her dating someone six or seven years her senior, not that she was thinking about dating him, though, of course.

He was quite obviously talking to her, not even dragging his eyes away for a second to glance at her friends. "Hi," Chloe said shyly, bobbing her head. She could see her friends looking on in amazement at what was going on. Chloe herself was a bit amazed. The way this guy was looking at her, it was like he had just solved a problem that had been plaguing him his whole life, and now that he'd found it, the answer was simple and perfect.

"I'm" he hesitated for some more uninterrupted staring, "I'm Paul," the words seemed to fall out of his numb lips.

"Chloe," she held out her hand for him to shake, and his eyes widened in awe and gratitude as though she had just offered him a pile full of cash upon just meeting him.

He reached out and grasped her hand very gently, making Chloe feel as though he was less shaking her hand than he was just holding it. As much as Chloe knew she should be weirded out by this unnatural encounter, she couldn't help but notice how warm and big his hand was, all rough and callousy. She was briefly tempted to just let him hold her hand, but she pulled it back self-consciously, becoming aware of the fact that not only were her friends watching, but they had made an audience of practically everyone else at the bonfire.

"We have to go Paul," one of his friends said firmly, the group having followed him to their spot.

"No we don't," Paul said, his voice equally firm and harsh when speaking to his friends, making Chloe jump a little at the difference in his tone from just a second ago when he had introduced himself. Paul seemed to notice her infinitesimal reaction, and he suddenly looked worried and pleading. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

"Come on guys," another one of them said, ushering everyone but Paul away, "Let's give him a minute."

The one who had originally spoken looked over at the other guy questioningly. A significant moment seemed to pass unspoken between them before the first guy nodded and they all went to stand a few feet away, though they were still looking on at the exchange guardedly.

"Uh, do you have somewhere to go with you friends?" Chloe asked to make conversation after no one said anything for a couple of minutes.

Paul shook his head vehemently. "No!" he denied sharply.

"Um," Chloe glanced over at her friends for help. "This is Gwen, Suzy, and Joey," she introduced them.

Paul's eyes didn't leave her though, not even as she introduced her friends. Now this was beyond weird, she thought, starting to feel a little creeped out. At first she was happy about the attention from the cute guy, but now she felt he was being a little too intense. Maybe there was something wrong with him, maybe it was the drugs.

"Um, well, we have to go," Chloe said, wanting to get out of the situation, feeling immensely uncomfortable with everyone staring at them.

"What? Where?" Paul demanded, reaching out his arms as though to grab her and making her stay, hesitating, though, before he actually touched her, and then dropping his arms again.

"I have to go home," Chloe said, grabbing Suzy's and Gwen's arms, and leading them away, Joey following after them.

"Wait," the guy called out after her.

Chloe turned around. "Can I have your phone number?" he asked. Chloe instinctively shook her head no. Had she not turned around before she saw the look of total devastation fall on Paul's face, she might have changed her mind, but as it was, she just walked away confused.

"What was that?" Joey said as soon as they were out of hearing distance from the bonfire.

"I know, talk about freaky," Suzy said, "That guy was way too creepy, I don't care how hot he was."

"You should have given him your phone number," Gwen said, causing the rest of them to look at her incredulously.

"To the stalker?" Suzy asked.

"Well, if he was a stalker, he would find out her phone number anyway," Gwen said reasonably.

"No point in encouraging him!" Suzy practically shouted.

The group had reached Gwen's car, parked on the side of the road. "Do you need a ride home?" Gwen offered, turning to Joey.

"Yeah, thanks," he said as they all piled in. "Say, are you okay Chloe? You've been awfully quiet."

"Um, yeah," Chloe said, though truthfully she was feeling a bit dazed from the whole experience. She couldn't get Paul's face out her head, and for some reason or other, she kept thinking about kissing him, even if he was a bit creepy. Not that she would admit that to her friends.

"I think Chloe liked him," Gwen teased as she backed up.

"Did not!" Chloe denied.

"It wouldn't be so bad if you did, he was hot," Gwen said.

"Yeah," Suzy was sarcastic, "So what if he lacks the basic skills to function in a social situation, so what if he takes drugs and has a horrible temper, at least he's hot."

"You're just jealous because he wasn't looking at you," was Gwen's answer.

Suzy just rolled her eyes.

***

Paul stared as his imprint, the love of his life, walked away with her friends without so much as a backward glance. Wasn't she supposed to like him? What did he do wrong? He could feel himself start to shake.

"Paul, man, are you okay?" Jacob asked as he came up to him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I have to follow her," Paul said, like a man possessed, and started up the path that the girls had just gone up moments before.

"Paul, you don't want to freak her out more than you already have," Quil commented as the others from the pack followed him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to question his friend. Paul didn't want to freak her out. He didn't want to make her upset in any way. Thinking that he might have done something to distress her worried him, and he started to shake.

"Paul, you need to calm down," Sam said authoritatively.

"Just tell me what you mean, Quil," Paul groaned out through clenched teeth.

"It's just that you came on a little strong," Quil shrugged, "Just try to relax a little."

"Yeah, yeah," Paul said, continuing on his way up the path. He could see her in the distance, getting into the car with the rest of them. "We'll see how calm you are when you imprint," he mumbled out quickly as he ran into the trees to phase so he could follow the car, making sure she got home safely.

"Just don't let her see you, Paul," Sam called out. Paul was grateful Sam didn't try to stop him. He had imprinted, he knew.

Chloe, his mind was filled with thoughts of her. She was perfect. He couldn't believe his eyes when he had been standing by the pack, bored and hungry. He had suddenly felt strange, and for some reason, his eyes were being dragged in the direction of the bonfire, though he normally wouldn't give the time of day to any of the kids there.

Then he saw her, and he couldn't see anything else. She was so perfect, her perfect skin and smile and eyes, god her eyes. Then she had turned to look at him, and his heart did a back flip, but she quickly turned away again, and all Paul could think about was looking into her eyes again.

"Woah, Paul, you okay there bud?" he could vaguely hear Embry's voice beside him, but he ignored it. The most beautiful creature in the world had just turned around to look at him. All he had wanted to do was hear her voice, talk to her, touch her.

Then he had ruined it, Paul thought angrily to himself. Like Quil said, he had come on too strong, he had scared her. He didn't want to upset her. He would have to try again. He would have to find a way to make her see that he would protect her and love her and never hurt her forever and ever.

He followed the car easily while staying out of sight in the woods beside the road. It was dark out, so that helped too. First they dropped off that guy, the blonde one. Paul didn't care about him though, but watched as he waved goodbye and went into his house.

His girl was next, and Paul was relieved as she made it safely inside her house, smiling happily as she went. He crept into her backyard, the darkness shadowing his giant wolf body. When Sam found out about this later, he would be upset at the risk Paul was taking coming too far out into the open, but he just couldn't resist himself. He wanted to see inside her house. Where she lived and spent her time.

He could see in through the sliding glass door leading into her kitchen. It was simple and cute and clean, but Paul stopped noticing the kitchen when his girl walked in. She went to the fridge, opening it and taking a swig out of the milk jug. Paul felt a little bad for spying on her, but not enough to make him leave. She then left the room, presumable to go upstairs. Paul sighed and stared into the kitchen for a few more minutes before reluctantly leaving. He would just have to find a way to "run into her" and convince her that he wasn't a creepy stalked, even though, he thought wryly, technically he was.


	2. Chapter 2

"Briiiing," Chloe's alarm clock dutifully signaled that it was time to wake up. Groaning, she threw her arm at her nightstand, successfully stopping the screeching noise. Usually Chloe was very much a morning person, getting up before the alarm clock even went off, her own internal clock telling her it was the start of a bright, beautiful new day. However, Chloe hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep. She closed her eyes again.

There were so many stars in the sky. She snuggled into warm arms. Kisses on her head. Light, loving. Love. Love. The air was dark, and soft. Like his eyes. Their love was dark. Buried under the earth of her soul; it was deep inside and secret. A moan-a grin. Stay here forever. So safe and warm. So many kisses.

"Briiiing," the screeching woke Chloe from her dream. Her body burrowed under the covers, trying to close her eyes and go back to that place, but it was already too late, she was awake. The dream had been so nice, but what had she been dreaming? Chloe hit her alarm clock again quickly to shut it up so she could concentrate. She closed her eyes and tried to take herself back to that place, but she couldn't remember.

"Grrrr" Chloe sat up, throwing her blankets off her. There was nothing so annoying as a forgotten dream, buried somewhere just beneath the surface of consciousness, so close that you could feel it there, but couldn't see it, knowing that it was forever lost.

She stood up and ambled to the shower. She didn't like this feeling, the feeling of wanting to go back to bed. As Chloe stepped into the shower, she thought of her night. She had been unable to fall asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning, lying with her eyes closed. She had looked at the clock, seeing that it was midnight, then1:30am, closing her eyes, 1:45am—3:00am. The last time she could remember looking at the it had read 4:30, which must have been the time she had finally been able to fall asleep.

And it wasn't that she had had just one bad night, that had happened before, it was that Saturday night had been the same: trying to fall asleep but finding the task to be as strenuous as getting through a math test. And then, when she had woken up in the middle of the night, she suddenly got the feeling that she was being watched.

Chloe laughed at herself as she washed her hair, remembering what a little kid she had been as she peered into her dark room, pulling the covers up to her chin. She had been too afraid to get out of bed, instead opting for the security of her blanket, closing her eyes and telling herself she was being ridiculous, no one was watching her.

Involuntarily, Chloe's mind wondered to that Paul guy. It was stupid to think that her sleepless nights were due to him, even if they did start right after she met him. It had to be a coincidence she told herself. Plus, two bad nights does not a pattern make. And if the problem persisted tonight, she would know that she had to get a Serta mattress or something.

"You were up late," her mother said when Chloe went downstairs after her shower. She was busy fixing Chloe's little brother's breakfast. "You didn't even go for your run today."

"Yeah, just tired I guess," she grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. A car horn outside signaled the arrival of Suzy to take her to school.

"See you later," Chloe told her mom as she grabbed her purse and barreled out the front door. It was an averagely gloomy day.

"Morning," Chloe greeted her best friends as she got into the backseat of the car.

"Morning," her friends greeted her back. Ah, ready for another fun-filled Monday at school.

Chloe bobbed her head slightly to the music playing through her earbuds as she looked at the call number on the spine of the book, looking up to the shelf in front of her. Running her hands along the spine, she found its proper location, placing the book on the shelf. She reached beside her and grabbed another book from cart.

_Stupid Suzy and Gwen_ she thought to herself for the hundredth time that day, remembering back to lunchtime. Chloe had fallen asleep in English class, something that was very unlike her, and Gwen, the blabbermouth, just had to go and tell Suzy, who wouldn't let the matter go until Chloe admitted that she had had trouble sleeping the past two nights. This lead to more pestering by the two of them, who weren't buying the bumpy mattress theory, until Chloe, under duress, confessed to her odd, irrational feeling of being watched. And when, due to the stress of being ganged up on by her two rottweilers of best friends, she accidentally let the name "Paul" slip out, well then it really got bad.

Gwen insisted that she was unable to sleep because of her feelings for Paul, which she was trying to deny. Suzy scoffed at this, saying she probably felt nervous and was experiencing that being watched feeling because Paul was a creepy stalker. Gwen told Suzy she was being cynical, but Suzy reminded Gwen she wasn't the best opinion on other people's romantic situations, reaching out to tap the thick glass of the motorcycle glasses Gwen had over her eyes.

Chloe denied either of these things to be true. She had no feelings about Paul. She didn't even think about him. Both girls had looked at her skeptically. _What do they know?_ Chloe questioned herself as she handled library books. _I don't even think about Paul. Not the way he stared at me with that mysterious look on his face. Not the warmth of his hand. In fact, Paul-Paul!"_

Chloe jumped out of her skin when she casually turned her head and saw none other than the man she had been thinking about, there in the flesh, standing with a grin on his face. Chloe, feeling startled, like someone who had just been caught doing something they weren't supposed to, did the first thing that popped into her head, which was to scream and throw a book at him.

Paul caught the flapping pages in his hands before the thing could hit him in the face. His goofy smile was replaced with a confused frown.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

"Uhh, I'm here to get a book," Paul seemed nervous, glancing down at his feet. Chloe couldn't help but feel her heartstrings pull at the sight of such a large, handsome man acting unsure of himself. He reached his hand up to scratch the back of his neck as he looked at her. Chloe's gazed wondered to the flexing muscles of his arm.

Chloe's eyes snapped back up to look at his as he began to talk, "I'm sorry I came on a little strong the other night. I'm glad I ran into you today, actually," Chloe felt a sneaking suspicious that he didn't exactly "run" into her today, "I just wanted to say sorry for, you know, I didn't mean to freak you out." Paul's expression was on of awkwardness/pain, and yet his eyes were hopeful as he looked down at her.

"Don't worry about it," Chloe shrugged. She looked over to the shelf of books beside her, then back to Paul, reaching her hand up to fiddle with the tops of the books on the shelf. "So," Chloe said, "Did you need help finding that book or something?"

"Uh, yeah. That would be great!" Paul's face lit up, like he was excited about the attention from her. She couldn't help but be flattered by this, and of course she was attracted to him, she was a human female after all. What had she been worrying herself about this whole time? Why shouldn't she like Paul? He actually seemed really sweet.

"So, what's the book?" Chloe asked when Paul only smiled at her.

"Oh," Paul said like he hadn't really thought about that at all. "Oh, well…" Chloe could see that his mind was turning quickly to come up with an answer, making Chloe grin secretly, "I was actually just looking for something good to read. Do you have any recommendations?"

Chloe, unable to resist her sense of mischief, replied, "I know just the thing, follow me," she turned on her heal, Paul following behind her like a puppy. She lead him over to the history section, remembering where she had shelved the long, boring books only ever used for history reports.

Chloe turned back to smile at Paul when they reached the shelf. Paul's grin widened, if that was possible, at her smile-so sweet and unsuspecting. "Now let's see where it is," Chloe ran her hands down the titles, all seemed equally boring and impossible to get through, what to give him? Her fingers stopped at _The Rise of the Industrial Revolution_. Eureka. Nothing in history was more boring than the Industrial Revolution.

"Here it is!" Chloe put the proper amount of excitement into her voice, "This is one of my favorites," she handed the book off to Paul.

"Thank you," Paul smiled as he took the book wistfully from her hands, though his expression turned slightly confused as he looked down at the cover. "The Industrial Revolution?" he asked her skeptically.

"Yeah," Chloe insisted, "It's great; trust me."

As Paul stood holding the giant book, Chloe couldn't help but wonder if he would actually read it. If he did, that would probably be the most any boy had ever done just to impress her. "Hey, and once you're finished, we can get together and talk about it, if you want?" Chloe added as extra incentive.

"That would be great!" The excitement clear in Paul's voice.

"Okay, well, I have to get back to work then." Chloe hedged as Paul continued to stand there. It wasn't that she really wanted him to go, she liked his presence, but she did actually have to get back to work.

"Okay, I'll see you later then," Paul backed away from Chloe, turning to go leave. Before he made it too far, though, he turned and walked back to her.

"Oh, yeah…um…" Paul seemed nervous again, "So, maybe I should get your number so I can give you a call, to you know, talk about the book?"

Chloe thought how adorable Paul looked, so nervous to ask for her number again. "Yeah, sure," Chloe smiled. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pen. And because she always saw it in the movies, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Paul smiled at the contact. Chloe held his large hand in both her small ones as she scribbled her number onto it. She resisted the urge not to let him go and dropped his hand.

"Okay," Paul glanced quickly down at his hand to inspect the number, "See you later then."

"See you." This time he did actually leave and went up to the counter to check out his book. Chloe watched him from behind a bookshelf, and smiled to herself when she saw that he had to apply for a library card, which he apparently didn't have before. She watched him until he left, noticing the way he turned around to scan the library, as though looking for one last glimpse of her, before he turned and walked out the door.

Jake and Embry burst out laughing when they walked into Emily's house and saw a sight they thought they would never see, Paul sitting at the kitchen table, studiously reading a book.

Paul looked up from his book, "Shut it," he growled at them.

"I see you made it to the library," Jake laughed.

"What are you reading anyway?" Embry asked, "That book looks really long," he walked over to the table and flipped the cover over so he could see the title. "_The Rise of the Industrial Revolution_?" Embry questioned, "Don't you think you should have started with something more on your level?…like _See Spot Run_ for instance."

Jake started laughing again at Embry's comment, and Paul jerked the book back from Embry. "This happens to be one of Chloe's favorite books," Paul informed the boys.

"You're kidding," Jake exchanged a skeptical look with Embry, "She must be a total nerd."

Paul stood up so quickly he knocked the chair out from behind him, and started to shake slightly.

"Now, now," Emily said from where she stood at the stove, "Don't tease Paul."

"Yeah, sorry man," Jake said, lifting his hands in surrender, not wanted to get Paul so upset that he would burst into a werewolf in Emily's kitchen. "I was just kidding."

Paul glared at him but his shaking stopped and he picked up his chair and sat back down.

"Here you go boys," Emily said as she handed Jake and Embry some cookies. "And here's another for you too, Paul."

"Thanks Em," the boys all said around mouthfuls of chocolate chip.

"So really man, you talked to her? How'd it go?" Embry asked sincerely.

"Great!" Paul enthused, having completely gotten over his temper from a minute ago, "She gave me this book to read and we have a date planned to discuss it when I've finished."

"So you don't have a date with her for another year?" Jake asked innocently.

Paul glared at him. "Leave me alone so I can read in peace," he demanded.

"Let's go watch the game," Embry suggested, and he and Jake went into the living room.

"How far along are you?" Emily asked as she chopped up vegetables.

Paul groaned and put his head down, "It's hopeless, I'm never going to be able to finish this."

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Emily said reasonably.

"I've been reading for an hour and I'm only on page six!" Paul looked pathetically at the amount of pages he had to get through. This was ridiculous. He was interested in what his imprint was interested in, but why did she have to be interested in something that was so boring?

Emily only laughed. And Paul forced himself to concentrate on the page in front of him.

For the next three days, the only thing Paul did was read, patrol (always running by Chloe's house so that he could at least see her), and eat. He got barely any sleep, staying up into the wee hours of the morning reading the book. He read during his classes at school. The guys never stopped teasing him about his sudden immersion into the literary world, but Paul couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the sooner he finished the book, the sooner he would be able to see her again. The closer he got toward the end, the faster and more he read, getting excited about how close he was to finishing.

Chloe had told her friends about her encounter with Paul, making them laugh. They all speculated on whether he would actually read the book, and when he would call. It was Friday now, and Chloe wondered if Paul would call to ask her out for the weekend. She doubted he had actually read the whole book, but would be impressed even if he had given a go at it.

Though Chloe told her friends about her joke on Paul, she didn't tell them about how she had been feeling ever since she saw him at the library. She couldn't stop thinking about Paul, longing to see him again. It was like after she saw Paul that Monday, she had felt at peace with herself, and as the week progressed, and the longer she went without seeing him, something just didn't feel right. It wasn't like she was depressed, and she definitely wasn't going to even think the word "love," but still, she just felt uneasy.

Chloe couldn't help but feel a little guilty about keeping her feelings secret from her friends. She had never really kept secrets from Gwen and Suzy before, had never really wanted to before.

Chloe was contemplating all this at home after school on Friday when her phone rang. Seeing that it was an unknown number, her heart sped up.

"Hello?" she questioned into the phone.

"Chloe?" she recognized his voice, and her heart flipped over. "Hi, this is Paul."

"Hi Paul," Chloe said coolly like she hadn't been thinking about him all week.

"Um, so I was calling to say that I finished that book you gave me."

"No way," Chloe said before she even thought about it. He had to be lying.

"Yeah, it was really good." Okay, now there was no way he was telling the truth.

"Really? I'm so glad you liked it," Chloe felt that there was no way he had actually read that whole book, and now he was lying about it.

"Yeah, um, so…do you want to get together so we can talk about it?" Paul's voice sounded excited. _Oh no you don't, Mister, _Chloe thought to herself, _You can't just lie like that and get away with it. _Chloe decided that the only thing to do was punish him for this.

"Yes, definitely, do you want to meet at Joe's Café? You know where that is right?"

"Yes. When do you want to meet? I'm free now, if that's okay with you. Or later tonight, whenever."

"How about in half an hour?" Chloe suggested. Joe's was just down the street; that would give her plenty of time to get ready.

"Okay! See you soon then!"

"Bye." Chloe said as she hung up the phone


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe approached the cafe with a feeling of nervous excitement. She immediately recognized Paul standing outside the door, waiting for her. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that showed off his well-formed biceps. Though it was a little bit chilly out, the cold didn't seem to even register to Paul.

It was like he sensed her presence for he lifted his head and looked directly at her as soon as she was in view, smiling widely. Chloe couldn't help the returning grin that broke out uncontrollably on her face.

She jogged up to meet him. "Hey," she breathed as she stood in front of him. She had almost forgotten how tall he was, it was actually a little intimidating.

"Hey," he said cheerfully back at her. The look on his face was so earnest and trusting that she didn't feel nervous about him. She could sense right away that he would never do anything to hurt her.

He seemed content to just stand by the door and stare at her, but Chloe realized how awkward that was, so she went to open the door. Paul quickly took the handle, though, before she could, holding the door open for her.

Joe's was a cool local place with a laid back vibe. A lot of kids from her school came and hung out here since the town was pretty small and there weren't a lot of places to go. She saw some kids from her grade at a table, but she didn't really talk to them so didn't feel compelled to say "hi." The place was kind of crowded.

The walls were painted bright colors, with mismatched pictures hung all over them. Wood tables were scattered around the place. Chloe lead them to the counter to order.

"I'll have a turtle coffee," Chloe told the girl behind the counter.

"And a black coffee for me," Paul eyed the baked goods behind the glass, "And a brownie, actually two brownies please." Chloe saw the girl eyeing Paul appreciatively. Paul didn't even notice, though, as he smiled down at Chloe, which filled her with a sense of pride.

"For here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Paul answered for them.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Paul asked solicitously as the barista went to get their drinks.

"What, are both those brownies for you?" Chloe said jokingly.

Paul looked at her sheepishly, and she swore she almost saw a blush for underneath his tanned skin, though she could have just been imaging it.

"Well, yeah," he answered, "But I'll get you one," he offered quickly.

Chloe laughed. She was tempted, but the thought of the extra calories stopped her. "No, I'm really not hungry," she made an excuse.

"Are you sure?" he asked as the barista came back and put their orders in front of them. Paul pulled out his wallet from his back pocket.

"Yeah, and I can pay for my own," Chloe offered.

"No, I'm happy to pay," Paul smiled down at her, handing the bills over. Chloe picked up the over-sized mug and took a sip of the warm liquid as Paul got his change back. She led them over to a table by the window.

"So Paul," Chloe said after she sat down.

"Chloe," Paul replied. A small shiver ran down Chloe's spine at his deep voice. He was very sexy. He took a huge bight of the brownie, Chloe stared at him a bit jealously, but only took a dainty sip of her drink.

"So, you read the whole book huh?" Chloe asked to make conversation.

"Yeah, it was really good," Paul said, though she saw him grimace a little as he lied.

"What was your favorite part?" Chloe pretended to ask curiously.

"Favorite part," Paul said as he thought, trying to think of the least boring part of that book, "Um, I guess the chapter on unions and the labour party," Paul shrugged.

Chloe fabricated a skeptical look on her face, "Hmm, I'm not sure I remember that. My favorite part was when they get trapped in the basement by zombies." Chloe quickly thought of something that might sound interesting to read about.

"Zombies?" Paul questioned skeptically.

"Yeah, the zombies," Chloe shrugged, fighting hard to keep the smile from her face.

"I don't understand," Paul said, "What do zombies have to do with the industrial revolution?"

"Industrial Revolution?" Chloe sounded confused.

"Well, yeah, the book you gave me _was_ called _The Rise of the Industrial Revolution_."

"Oh..." Chloe drug out the word, placing a look of consternation on her face, "I must have accidentally given you the wrong book," she said with her eyebrows carefully furrowed.

Paul stared at her stupidly, "The wrong book?"

She shrugged, "Oops."

Paul groaned, "And I read that whole book for nothing!" he complained loudly.

Chloe giggled a little. "But hey, you said you liked it."

"I didn't like it. It was boring as hell!"

Chloe laughed at his outburst.

"Come on," she said seriously, "You did not actually read the whole book."

"I did!" Paul said indignantly.

"Liar." Her voice was playful.

"I did!" Paul repeated again. "And it was terrible."

Chloe giggled and shrugged, deciding to let it go. "So, how are old you?" she asked abruptly to change the subject and because it was something she was genuinely wondering about. If he was twenty-one or twenty-two, it probably wouldn't be that big a deal that she was out on a date with him, but any older than that, and it might borderline on unacceptable, according to her parents at least.

"Eighteen," he answered smoothly.

Chloe stared at him for a second. "Eighteen, but you look older!" She looked closely at his handsome face. His jaw line was strong and pronounced, his eyes deep set, his nose well formed. Indeed, his features looked formed beyond eighteen years old.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," he looked to be almost uncomfortable beneath her scrutiny. "How old are you?" he asked back, taking a sip of his drink and a bite of his brownie.

"Seventeen, almost eighteen," Chloe answered. He didn't seem surprised by her answer.

"When's your birthday?"

"November 18," Chloe answered.

"And then you'll be an adult," Paul grinned.

"I guess."

Paul suddenly pushed the plate with his brownie on it right in front of Chloe. "Here," he said, "Eat it."

Chloe glanced quickly up at him, wondering if she had been eyeing the brownie too obviously.

"Oh no, really," she protested, "it's yours," though if she were honest, she was willing to slack on her diet a little for a taste of the delicious looking confection.

Paul stuffed the remaining bit of his first brownie into his face. "I'm not hungry," he said around the mouthful. Chloe giggled at how cute he was being. She happily took a bite of the brownie.

"Maybe just half," she told him. "So, are you still in high school?" she asked, wrapping her mind around the fact that he was only eighteen.

"Yeah, I graduate this year."

"Me too," Chloe said brightly. "Do you know where your going to college?" she asked, thinking of her applications.

Paul shrugged, "I don't think I am. I'll probably stick close to home, get a job with some of my buddies." Chloe looked surprised. For her and her friends, it was the assumption they would all go to college. The idea of not going barely even occurred to her.

"What about you?" Paul asked.

"I don't really know yet," Chloe said, "I'm still looking at different schools. I'm going to start applying soon. I guess it depends where I get in."

"Do you want to go far away?" Paul said in a strangely strangled sounding tone of voice.

"I'll probably go somewhere in the state," Chloe said, "To save money, you know. Though it would be really cool to go to California, somewhere a bit sunnier. I don't know." Chloe didn't particularly like thinking about after school plans. On one hand it was exciting, but on the other, it was a pressure-inducing, scary, give-me-a-nervous-breakdown kind of experience. Chloe was trying to not let it get to her.

"Do you know what you want to study?" Paul asked, staring intently at her.

"Culinary Arts" Chloe said without even thinking about it. Though she didn't know where she wanted to go, she knew that she wanted to be a chef and open her own restaurant.

"You want to be a chef?"

"Yeah," Chloe nodded, "I love to cook. I especially love trying knew things and making up recipes. I actually have to stop myself from making too much sometimes, because we can't eat all the food."

Paul had a look on his face as though she had just offered him a million dollars. "I'll help you eat food, anytime," he said so eagerly that Chloe had to laugh.

"I bet you would. You're probably one of those people who eat really terribly and still manage to stay incredibly fit," Chloe joked, looked down at his muscular arms and flat stomach. Then she remembered what Joey said about the steroids and her face went still.

Paul only laughed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "especially lately." _Why lately? _Chloe wondered. She really hoped Paul wasn't on steroids, but it would be inappropriate to ask. That's when it hit her. She was on a date with Paul. A perfectly normal date where they were getting along quite nicely. Though it was nice, it was still kind of confusing.

When Paul excused himself to go to the restroom, Chloe took a moment to take stock. He was eighteen, only one year older than her and also a senior. He was incredibly handsome and fit. He was easy to talk to, and most importantly, he seemed to really like her.

On the negative side though, there were the rumors about the steroids. There was his odd semi-stalkerish behavior when they had first met. She didn't really know anything about him, though that wasn't really anything strange for someone you just met.

"Hey," Paul said as he fell back into the seat across from her. Chloe smiled at him. "I'm really glad you agreed to come out with me, even if I did have to read that stupid book. I"m having a really nice time here with you."

Chloe's heart melted slightly. "Me too," she responded with complete honesty.

"Tell me more about yourself," Paul demanded.

"Um, what do you want to know?" Chloe asked nervously. She realized that she liked Paul, a lot. That realization for her changed the dynamic of this whole date. Before it was almost like a joke, but now that it was real, she was nervous. She didn't want to do anything that would make him stop liking her. Chloe never really felt like this before, and the feeling was unwelcome. She was normally super confidant.

"Everything," Paul answered with such sincerity in his voice that Chloe's eyes snapped to his face to examine his expression. He was staring at her adoringly, reminiscent of the way he had been when they had first met. Chloe started to wonder if this guy was for real. No way could he like her so much already.

"That might take a bit longer than we have," was all she said though.

Paul laughed lightly, deep and husky. "Start with your family then."

"Well, my dad works with computers, mostly from his home office. He's really funny in a dorky kind of way. My mom is an artist. She makes sculptures out of found objects, and has actually sold quite a few, but she doesn't do it for the money. My little brother is in fourth grade, and he's adorable, but can be a bit of a brat sometimes. What about you?"

"I live with my mom, step-dad, and baby sister, she's three. What do you like to do besides cooking?" He asked quickly.

"I like to hang out with my friends and just do weird stuff or whatever, I also like to watch movies. What happened to your dad? When did your mom remarry?" I asked before he asked another question and I lost my chance.

"My dad left when I was ten and my mom married Dave two years ago. What kind of stuff do you do with your friends?"

Chloe got the feeling that he was doing the same thing as her, spitting out a question of his own before he had to answer another one.

"I don't know. Not a whole lot to do in Forks, which perpetuates our boredom, which is dangerous with us because that's when we start to get into trouble." Chloe wanted to ask about his step-father, but she got the sense that they were having two conversations at once and felt that she should make an effort to end it.

Paul grinned in anticipation, "What kind of trouble?"

Chloe shook her head. "I can't tell you the secrets of our sisterhood. I barely know you."

"I won't tell," Paul swore, but Chloe still refused.

"Nope, sorry," she shrugged.

"What's your favorite food?" Paul asked suddenly.

"For me, nothing beats a really good key lime pie."

"Never had it," Paul admitted.

Chloe scoffed, "Never had it? You don't know what your missing out on. What's your favorite food?"

"Hot dogs," Paul answered right away.

Chloe stared at him incredulously.

"Hot dogs?" she questioned disbelievingly.

"Yeah, what?" Paul shrugged.

"Out of all the foods in the world, you pick hot dogs?"

"I like hot dogs."

Chloe laughed slightly, "Well okay then, you like hot dogs," she said as though conceding a point.

"What's your favorite movie?" Paul asked.

"It changes all the time, really, depending on my mood," Chloe thought about it, "Right now, I guess I would say _Julie and Julia_, but that might perhaps be because we're talking about food. I love John Hughes, though, and anything with Marlon Brando, and _Dazed and Confused."_

"That's quite a variety."

"What's your favorite movie?"

"Don't really have one," Paul shrugged.

Chloe groaned. "You're killing me here Paul. Don't have a favorite movie. Favorite food is hot dogs," she teased him. Paul stared at her with an adorable, secretive smirk on his face. Chloe realized suddenly that she was teasing Paul with comfortable ease, having forgotten to be nervous. This realization brought the butterflies back into her stomach.

"Again with bashing the hot dogs," Paul said jokingly.

Chloe smiled, "Okay, what kind of movies do you like?" she asked quietly.

Paul thought about it, squishing his lips together and squinting his eyes. "Horror, I guess. But all kinds, really."

Paul scratched the back of his head suddenly, glancing away shyly. "Um, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked out of the blue, seeming to be really nervous about her answer.

Chloe was surprised by the question. Why would she agree to go out on a date with him if she had a boyfriend?

"Yes" Chloe said with a hint of sarcasm and mischievousness in her voice. If her friends where there, they would know right away that she was lying. Paul seemed to be unaware, though.

He stared at her in shock. "What?"

Chloe, seeing that he believed her, decided to take the joke further. She shrugged, "Yes, I have a boyfriend," and to make it believable she added, "Why is it so hard to believe I have a boyfriend? Do you?"

"Do I what?" Paul said, a bit of an angry growl in his voice, that didn't scare Chloe in the least, instead only making her chuckle at his grumpiness.

"Have a boyfriend?"

"What? No!" Paul sputtered at the idea.

"Oh," Chloe couldn't help smirking at the look on his face, tucking her chin down so that he wouldn't see it.

"Who is he?" Paul asked with narrowed eyes.

"Who is who?"

"Your boyfriend," Paul's voice was frustrated.

"Oh, him," Chloe said. Honestly, she was surprised that Paul had fixated on her boyfriendedness more than on her implication that he was gay. "His name's Ian. He's gorgeous and charming, I think you would like him."

Paul rolled his eyes as though that was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. He sat back in his chair sullenly, and didn't appear to want to talk anymore for the moment, so Chloe thought she should speak up.

"What's wrong?"

The muscles in Paul's neck were visibly tense, and though Chloe couldn't see his hands because they were under the table, she guessed that they were clenched into fists if the tightness in his arms was any indication. Chloe started to feel a little nervous. Sure she was provoking him, but really? What if he got violent? This was a bad idea. She was so stupid, she didn't even know this guy, except that he was probably some crazed stalker/drug-user.

Paul looked up into her worried, face, and his whole body relaxed, making Chloe relax as well. Instead of screaming at her and walking out of the cafe as Chloe half expected, and really dreaded, he calmly said, "Well, you know Chloe, I sort of thought this was a date."

Chloe did an inner squeal at his words and the sound of regret in his voice. She almost told him right then and there that she had only been joking, that she didn't really have a boyfriend, but Chloe felt as though that would be ending the joke a bit too soon. She perversely wanted to see how far she could push him.

"A date? But I thought you were gay?" Chloe answered.

"I'm not gay. Why would you think that?" Paul, being the stereotypical macho guy that he was, of course, wanted to know why Chloe would ever think that he could be gay.

She just shrugged by way of answer, "I don't know. It was just a feeling I got. A vibe or something. I'm sorry, Paul." Paul looked really distressed by this. "You know, it is sort of a little awkward now, this whole thing."

Paul frowned.

"Maybe I should just go."

Paul looked up in panic. "You don't have to go. We could still be friends," he said a bit desperately. Chloe stared at him a little bit shocked. It was hard to believe that this sexy

man could really like her so much after one brief conversation.

"Okay. Friends then. But I still should really go," Chloe said, sensing that it was getting late.

"Okay, yeah," Paul seemed reluctant, but stood up and followed her out the door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you," Chloe said. She didn't want to let it show, but she really didn't want to leave either. What if her fake boyfriend had scared him off, and now he wouldn't call her? Why did she have to make everything into some stupid game? She should just tell him the truth.

"Can I call you later?" Paul asked, "As a friend," he was hasty to reassure.

Wow.

"Um, sure," Chloe shrugged, but was secretly gleeful. She was standing pretty close to Paul, and though her jacket was pulled tightly around her, it was starting to get a little colder. She resisted the urge to lean into Paul's warmth. "I better go, it's probably going to start raining any minute."

"Okay, yeah," Paul agreed, but when he saw that she wasn't heading toward the parking lot, but down the sidewalk, he followed her like a stray puppy.

"Did you walk here?" he asked.

Chloe nodded, "I only live just down the road."

"I'll walk you home?" Paul proposed it like a question, and Chloe grinned into her chest before nodding.

After a minute of silence, Paul spoke up, "So, how long have you a-had a boyfriend?" Paul asked as though reluctant to speak, but too curious to let the question go.

Chloe, now reassured that Paul wasn't going to leave because of her fake boyfriend, was thoroughly enjoying the deception. "Oh, a couple of months."

"That's not very long."

Chloe grinned and shrugged. Paul walked easily beside her, keeping pace with her shorter legs. His body practically radiated heat, and Chloe felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and take his hand in hers, but she didn't.

"So, your boyfriend won't care if we're friends?" Paul seemed fixated on her fake boyfriend.

"I'm allowed to have friends, Paul," Chloe told him. She really did want to spend more time with Paul. They were at her house all too soon.

"I guess I'll see you around," Chloe said reluctantly.

"Goodbye Chloe," Paul said. Chloe went inside but watched him walk away from the front window until he was no longer in sight.


End file.
